How to Build Your Makerspace | EdSurge Guides Learning by making has been around since long before edtech—just think about what the adventurous explorers or intrepid settlers of yore would have thought of "Do-It-Yourself." But with thousands of kid-friendly tech tools and a whole World Wide Web of resources out there, creative, interesting opportunities for learning-by-making abound for everyone. Okay, so with all those resources, where should you start to build a makerspace? Read on for ideas from the educators and entrepreneurs who think making 24/7, including what is involved with project-based learning and making in the classroom and tried-and-true lessons from the field on starting your makerspace. Making on a budget? How to Start a Makerspace What is Project-Based Learning, Anyway? Movers and Shakers, Teachers and Makers Accessible Makerspaces for Diverse Students If I Had a Hammer: Tools for Your Makerspace Looking to create a makerspace in your home or classroom? What supplies do you use in your makerspace?
makerspace | Expect the Miraculous A few weeks ago, Gretchen Thomas, UGA instructional technology teacher, emailed me about a possible collaboration on the UGA campus. She wanted to bring her Maker Dawgs class to the UGA Tate Center Plaza to host a popup makerspace. The idea would be to have a variety of maker tools available for UGA students to try on the spot. She wondered if I had students who might join them. Without hesitation, I said yes and we started the logistics. Our school is about a mile from the UGA Tate Center Plaza and our students have walking field trip forms on file so it was easy for me to create a field trip. Students had a little bit of time to explore the maker tools that Gretchen brought before we prepped all of our supplies for UGA students to explore. Students connected Spheros to iPads through bluetooth, setup a wireless network with Justin & Greg from Flipgrid, and made a playable piano with Playdoh and MaKey MaKey. Then, we waited. Here are links to a few of those responses. Like this:
Episodes | Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show! S4E1 Mini S3E1 Mini S2E8 Mini S2E7 Mini S2E6 Mini S2E5 Mini S2E4 Mini S2E3 Mini S2E2 Mini S2E1 Mini S1E4 Full S1E7 Mini S1E6 Mini S1E5 Mini S1E4 Mini S1E3 Full S1E3 Mini S1E2 Mini S1E1 Mini S1E2 Full S1E1 Full A Librarian's Guide to Makerspaces: 16 Resources "There were more than 135 million adult makers, more than half of the total adult population in America, in 2015." What is a makerspace? You’ve no doubt been hearing that word more than a few times over the past several years. Makerspaces, also called hackerspaces, hackspaces, and fablabs, are collaborative spaces where people gather to get creative with DIY projects, invent new ones, and share ideas. Since the first official makerspace convened six years ago in a library in upstate New York, libraries have remained an ideal setting for makerspace events across the country. There were more than 135 million adult makers, more than half of the total adult population in America, in 2015. Articles & Blog Posts on Makerspaces 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) 12.) Maker Faire Makerspaces Directories 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) Revitalizing Community Spaces One could argue that the phenomenon of makerspaces has led to a revitalization and reimagining of libraries in a digital world.
Tinkering Space Interview: Megan Schiller Today I’m joined by Megan Schiller of The Art Pantry, as part of our ongoing series of inspiring conversations that center on how to set up creativity hubs, or tinkerspaces. If you’re scratching your head because you can’t figure out where to put your child’s art materials, want to turn your laundry room into an art zone, or tend to shift furniture to make room for creative supplies, these interviews are sure to give you food for thought. Megan Schiller is a creative parent with an impressive background in art education, who now runs an amazing online kid-friendly art store called The Art Pantry where she also consults families on how to set up their very own Art Pantry (check out her very generous giveaway at the end of this post). I’ve drooled over pictures of Megan’s child-friendly tinkering space in her Instagram feed and also on her blog, and I asked her if she’d be so kind to share it with us today. Yay! We’re in for treat. Can you tell us about your family? Great question!
RAFT Bay Area - Resource Area For Teaching RAFT Needs Your Support Join RAFT and Silicon Valley Community Foundation for Silicon Valley Gives, a one-day event to bring community and nonprofits together in a big way. Donations will be matched 1:1, $10 becomes $20! Read More It’s a day of unprecedented online giving on May 6th. Donate Now Join RAFT at Santana Row on May 6 Rosie McCann’s Pub & Restaurant, 4:00-8:00pm (a portion of sales will be donated to RAFT) Don’t miss the opportunity to see how commonly used materials can become engaging learning experiences. Autodesk Launches Tinkerplay App, Making 3D Modeling & Printing Easy & Fun We all know how important 3D modeling and printing will be in the years to come. If I had children, I would be teaching them at the earliest age possible how to model with CAD software, and ultimately how to use a 3D printer, as the world our children will be entering as adults will likely be foreign to what we are all familiar with today. Autodesk realizes the importance of 3D modeling and printing on future generations, and how important it is to get younger generations using their products and services at an early age. The best way to teach children, and even adults, about a new concept or how to use a new technology is by creating a learning experience which is fun, exciting, and rewarding. Tinkerplay is based on the Modio app which Autodesk acquired last year. “Creators, designers and makers from ages five to ninety, have blown us away with their passion for 3D modeling and 3D printing,” stated Samir Hanna, vice president and general manager, Autodesk Consumer and 3D Printing.
How to Use the “4 C’s” Rubrics This excerpt appears in the Buck Institute for Education's book, "PBL for 21st Century Success: Teaching Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity." Rubrics for each of the "4 C's" are in the book, and we offer guidance below on how to use them in a PBL context. They are also available to download on BIE's website at the following links: What these rubrics assess These rubrics describe what good critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity & innovation look like in the context of Project Based Learning. What these rubrics do NOT assess: “content” These rubrics are designed to assess only the 4 C’s, not subject-area knowledge in, say, math, history, or science. How these rubrics align with Common Core State Standards In these rubrics, note that: Specific ELA standards are cited in the “At Standard” column only, but their intent is reflected in the “Approaching” and “Below” columns too. How to use these rubrics How these rubrics are organized
Learning Pathways: Descriptive or Prescriptive? A few months ago, in a post entitled Scaffolding Web Literacy Through Learning Pathways, I differentiated between training pathways ("a series of steps that lead to the individual being able to reproduce knowledge or action") and learning pathways ("experiences lead[ing] to the re-shaping of... future behaviour"). Descriptive/Prescriptive In this post, I want to dive deeper into learning pathways, dividing these types of pathways into broadly two groups. There are those kinds of pathways that are descriptive and those that are prescriptive. Neither of these labels is pejorative, as each could be appropriate given a particular context. This way of looking at learning pathways has often come up in conversations around Open Badges: Descriptive pathways approaches seek to acknowledge the ways that people willfully choose to earn badges. Given the "pluses and minuses" of each, it's worth exploring how a combination of these approaches could work in practice. Re-evaluation Conclusion
27 Ways to Inspire Students to Innovate (Infographic) via MindShift Educator Mia MacMeekin made this infographic about ways to inspire students to think more deeply about how innovation applies to them. It’s a helpful way to begin a conversation about what it means to innovate, a word that sometimes seems to belong in the adult domain of business and is estranged from how students think about living their lives. This article appeared on Mindshift on November 29 2013 and was written by Katrina Schwartz. Like what you see? Related What the Future of Learning Might Look Like via MindShift Education and learning could look radically different in the next few years. In "Assessment" 27 Teacher Actions That Help Promote Valid Assessment Data There is often talk about assessment–its forms, frequency, and the integration of gleaned data to revise planned instruction.
What’s Up with STEM for 2015? A MiddleWeb Blog My fingers are crossed for 2015 as the best STEM year ever! I’ve been looking around to see what directions STEM programs seem to be taking this year. I decided to scrutinize what’s being described as “STEM” these days using resources from the National Academies and the American Society for Engineering Education, as well as my own work with the Engaging Youth through Engineering project. If you’d like to have a good look at some basic STEM principles, you might start with these three publications. ► Successful STEM Education Programs (National Research Council) ► Examination of Integrated STEM Curricula as a Means Toward Quality K-12 Engineering Education (Research to Practice) ► STEM Integration in K-12 Education: Status, Prospects, and an Agenda for Research (National Academies Press). According to studies and writings about the STEM “idea” at its onset, certain criteria and principles would be common to all STEM lessons and programs. ✔︎ Criteria for STEM Programs 1.
2013 Technology Outlook for STEM+ Education - The New Media Consortium The Technology Outlook for STEM+ Education 2013-2018: An NMC Horizon Project Sector Analysis was released as a collaborative effort between the New Media Consortium (NMC), the Centro Superior para la Enseñanza Virtual (CSEV), Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Control at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Education Society (IEEE). This report will inform education leaders about significant developments in technologies supporting STEM+ (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Twelve emerging technologies are identified across three adoption horizons over the next one to five years, as well as key trends and challenges expected to continue over the same period, giving educators, administrators, and policymakers a valuable guide for strategic technology planning across STEM+ education.